Even
though he should feel no generosity, he will feign it, and, in his
ambition to be admired by the world, he will grant me what he would have
refused under other circumstances. The hearts of men rest in the hands
of God. He will move this man's heart!"
Scarcely touching the floor with her feet, Louisa glided across the room
to the piano. She slowly touched the keys, and with upturned glances she
indicated her thoughts, singing in a joyful voice the hymn commencing
with the words:
In all thy ways--in grief, in fear,
O troubled heart I rely
On that all-faithful, ceaseless care
Of Him who rules the sky.[33]
[Footnote 33:
Befiehl Du Deine Wege
Und was Dein Herze Kraenkt,
Der allertreu'sten Pflege
Dess, der den Himmel lenkt.
PAUL GERHARD.
CHAPTER XXIX.
BAD TIDINGS.
Frederick William and Louisa sat hand in hand in the small, wretched
room of the mill at Puktupoehnen. They were not a royal couple, but a
pair of lovers, thanking God that they were again united, and could read
in each other's eyes the love and constancy that animated them. The
king, generally taciturn and laconic, found words at this hour; his
happiness made him eloquent, and he unbosomed himself unreservedly,
telling of his apprehensions and forebodings. "But now," he said,
pressing Louisa's hand to his lips, "now you are here, and affairs will
assume a more hopeful aspect.
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